Hindus celebrate Holi, the festival of colors

Across India and Nepal, millions of Hindus are celebrating Holi, the joyous festival of color, smearing one another with colored powder and spraying each other with squirt guns.

The two-day festival of Holi is mainly celebrated on Friday this year, but has countless variants and traditions, and some festivals began days ago. By Thursday afternoon, it was easy to find office workers in central New Delhi with their faces smeared red and yellow.

While its roots are religious, tied in many ways to the god Krishna, Holi is also seen as a celebration of good versus evil, and of a good harvest. (AP)

People playing with colours to celebrate Holi at GIP Mall on March 1, 2018 in Noida, India. (Photo: Virendra Singh Gosain/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

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Hindus celebrate Holi, the festival of colors

Tribal Indian students from the Kalinga Institute of Social Science (KISS), dressed as Lord Krishna and Radha, are smeared with with coloured powder and petals during Holi festival celebrations in Bhubaneswar on March 1, 2018. (Photo: Asit Kumar/AFP/Getty Images)

Hindus celebrate Holi, the festival of colors

A widow daubed in colours takes part in Holi celebrations in the town of Vrindavan in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, Feb. 27, 2018. (Photo: Adnan Abidi/Reuters)

Hindus celebrate Holi, the festival of colors

Girls smear colored powder on each other as they celebrate Holi in Jammu, India, Thursday, March 1, 2018. (Photo: Channi Anand/AP)

Hindus celebrate Holi, the festival of colors

Students celebrate the Holi festival on March 1, 2018 in New Delhi, India. (Photo: Raj K. Raj/ Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

Hindus celebrate Holi, the festival of colors

Indian students play with coloured powders to celebrate Holi festival in Kolkata on March 1, 2018. (Photo: Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP/Getty Images)

A widow daubed in colours takes part in Holi celebrations in the town of Vrindavan in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, 27, 2018. (Photo: Adnan Abidi/Reuters)

Hindus celebrate Holi, the festival of colors

An Indian girl celebrates Holi on Feb. 27, 2018 in Kolkata. The popular Hindu spring festival of colors is observed in India at the end of the winter season on the last full moon of the lunar month, and will be celebrated on March 1 this year. (Photo: Debajyoti Chakraborty/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Hindus celebrate Holi, the festival of colors

Indians play with colors during Holi celebrations in Hyderabad, India, Thursday, March 1, 2018. Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, also marks the advent of spring. (Photo: Mahesh Kumar A./AP)

Hindus celebrate Holi, the festival of colors

Widows daubed in colours dance as they take part in Holi celebrations in the town of Vrindavan in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, Feb. 27, 2018. (Photo: Adnan Abidi/Reuters)

Hindus celebrate Holi, the festival of colors

Hindu devotees take part in the religious festival of Holi inside a temple in Nandgaon village, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India Feb. 25, 2018. (Photo: Adnan Abidi/Reuters)

Hindus celebrate Holi, the festival of colors

Widows daubed in colours dance as they take part in Holi celebrations in the town of Vrindavan in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, Feb. 27, 2018. (Photo: Adnan Abidi/Reuters)

Hindus celebrate Holi, the festival of colors

A student of Rabindra Bharati University, with his face smeared in coloured powder, reacts as his fellow student throws coloured powder on his face during Holi celebrations inside the university campus in Kolkata, India, Feb. 26, 2018. (Photo: Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)

Hindus celebrate Holi, the festival of colors

Hindu devotees take part in the religious festival of Holi inside a temple in Nandgaon village, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, Feb. 25 2018. (Photo: Adnan Abidi/Reuters)

Hindus celebrate Holi, the festival of colors

A Hindu devotee takes part in the religious festival of Holi inside a temple in Nandgaon village, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, Feb. 25, 2018. (Photo: Adnan Abidi/Reuters)